Playlist of the Month: August 2025

Another country-heavy playlist; still not quite sure how I feel about my music taste shifting this hard, but hey, at least I’m enjoying music. Entire playlist is here; individual tracks (and commentary) below:

Oklahoma Smokeshow – Zach Bryan on Summertime Blues – EP

Hotel Bible – Max McNown on Night Diving

Medusa – Cameron Whitcomb on Medusa – Single

Heartbreaker – Hayden Blount on Heartbreaker – Single

Options – Cameron Whitcomb on Clean Country 2025

Azalea Place – Max McNown on Night Diving

St. Helens Alpenglow – Max McNown on St. Helens Alpenglow – Single

Virgo – TROY on Virgo – Single

Flicker – Yoste on Flicker – Single

Follows You – Michael Marcagi on Midwest Kid – EP

Take Me Away (Stripped) – Noah Brigden on Take Me Away (Stripped) – Single

Livin’ Missing You – Hayden Blount on Livin’ Missing You – Single

Build – Sleeping At Last on Build – Single

Fiending – Noah Brigden on I’m Fine – Single

life is beautiful – heylucas on hey

American Trail – Dylan Gossett on Westward

Carolina – Blake Whiten on Carolina – Single

Out Of The Blue – Waylon Wyatt on Out Of The Blue – EP

Normal Day – Brendan Walter on Normal Day – Single

Good Old Days – Daniel Leggs on Good Old Days – Single

God Loves Weirdos – Mt. Joy on Hope We Have Fun

Green – Jack Van Cleaf on JVC

Space in My Heart (Original Version) – Enrique Iglesias on Space in My Heart (Original Version) – Single

Bloodline – Alex Warren & Jelly Roll on Bloodline – Single

I Am Digital, I Am Divine – Erin LeCount on I Am Digital, I Am Divine – EP

Sea Shanty Medley – Home Free on Sea Shanty Medley – Single

Snow – Matt Ryder on Snow – Single

You and Me – heylucas on hey

Rearranged – honestav on hara-kiri (Deluxe)

Better Days – Anella on 831: The Series

Smoker – Jack Van Cleaf on JVC¹

decay – Ethan Regan on honey honey honey – EP

The Barn – Landon Smith on The Barn – Single²

Loud and Heavy – Cody Jinks on Adobe Sessions³

Hard To Love – Anella on 831: The Series

Make These Moments Last – Thorin Loeks on Make These Moments Last – Single

One More Day to Come – Luke Beling on This Parlor Trick Life

Fair To You – Vincent Lima on To Love A Thing That Fades⁴

Burn (feat. Landon Cube) – Lil Skies on The Evolution of the Rose

Did What You Did – Noah Brigden on Bad Habits – EP⁵

Life’s Worth Living – Nick Folwarczny on Life’s Worth Living – Single

Struggle On Boy (Stripped) – Noah Brigden on Bad Habits – EP

Shore House – Maxx Parker on Shore House – Single⁶

Good God, Hot Damn – Hayden Blount on Good God, Hot Damn – Single

Still – Jack Van Cleaf on JVC

Something To Lose – Christian Hayes & Corey Harper on Something To Lose – Single

Reckless – Blake Whiten on Six Mile – EP

My Heart’s A Crowded Room – The Fray on My Heart’s A Crowded Room – Single

5AM (feat. Billianne) – Amber Run on 5AM (feat. Billianne) – Single⁷

Lucy – Mt. Joy on Hope We Have Fun⁸

Ghost in the Shell – EDEN on Ghost in the Shell – EP

Best Of My Love (feat. Zak Abel) – Vandelux on Best Of My Love (feat. Zak Abel) – Single

Sirenita – Ozuna on Sirenita – Single

Smoke & Embers – Waylon Wyatt & Willow Avalon on Smoke & Embers – Single⁹

Hide and Seek (20th Anniversary Remaster) – Imogen Heap on Hide and Seek (20th Anniversary Remaster) – Single¹⁰

Reversing Thunder – Luke Beling on This Parlor Trick Life

Damned If I Do – Vincent Mason on Damned If I Do – Single

Expiration Date (feat. Jack Van Cleaf) – Hayden Everett & Jack Van Cleaf on Expiration Date (feat. Jack Van Cleaf) – Single

Night Windows – Arcade Beach on Music for Night Drives

Dale Dickens (Rip) – Cooper Alan on Dale Dickens (Rip) – Single¹¹

On My Mind – Alex Warren & ROSÉ on On My Mind – Single

THE ONE. – Kesha on . (…)

Gerona – heylucas, Singe Bleu & Androma on hey

QUEEN OF DUST (Live at The Royal Albert Hall) – The Blaze on FOLK¹²

Breathe Again – Thorin Loeks on Flakes of Gold – EP

Shadowverse – The Midnight on Syndicate¹³

Fourth of July – Cooper Alan on Fourth of July – Single¹⁴

Lost Without You – Luca Fogale on Lost Without You – Single

Do It All Again – heylucas & HNE on hey

Cold Shoulder – Zach John King on Slow Down – EP

The Others – Cody Jinks on In My Blood

Life Behind Bars – Zach John King & Bayker Blankenship on Life Behind Bars – Single¹⁵

Better than the Floor – Sam Barber & Chance Peña on Better than the Floor – Single

Man of the Year – Sam Barber on Man of the Year – Single

Bottomland – HARDY on COUNTRY! COUNTRY!¹⁶

Television Love – Of Monsters and Men on Television Love – Single

In The Middle – Mt. Joy on Hope We Have Fun

Fever In My Bones – Nils Hoffmann & Hayden Calnin on Fever In My Bones – Single

Swimming In The Dark – Vandelux on Closer

Sunlight – Yoste on Sunlight – Single

Bowery (feat. Kings of Leon) – Zach Bryan on Bowery (feat. Kings of Leon) – Single

Nuke the Moon – Epic Mountain on Nuke the Moon – Single

1. I really enjoy this album, but so much of it is so painfully wistful/sad that I’ve found myself consciously leaning away from it in the latter half of the month. ↩
2. “What’d I do wrong? What do I care?/ I’m just here for the boys and the beer and the air.” ↩
3. Absolutely love this addition; courtesy of my cousin’s boyfriend, and the drive back from a camping trip. ↩
4. oof ouch my bones ↩
5. “Postin’ on the Instagram, lying in the captions/ Drinkin’ way too much and developing bad habits”
   This is a viciously fun song, and I’ve spent way too much time this month trying to figure out exactly how he’s getting his pronunciation like that. ↩
6. Normally not a fan of this sort of spoken-word-sampling style, but it works really well here; honestly, I’d watch this movie. ↩
7. I disagree with some of the lyrics as presented by Apple Music, but I really enjoy this alternate take on the original. ↩
8. Great for singing along to. ↩
9. Took three or four listens before I stopped hearing this come on and thinking “how did Waylon Wyatt land a Dolly Parton collab?” ↩
10. This might well be the song for which Apple Music’s Atmos support was created, absolutely gorgeous remaster. ↩
11. This might well be the favorite this month, it’s so much fun to sing along to. ↩
12. Not usually a fan of live recordings, but every once in a while one just hits. ↩
13. Breaking up the country with a lusciously cinematic entry from The Midnight, such a vibe. ↩
14. Okay, I do enjoy this, but there’s also something about it that reminds me of Bo Burnham’s country song. ↩
15. I’m so thoroughly not a lyrics-analysis guy, but I had a fun moment with this like “oh, wait, I get it it, it’s about being behind bars and also about being behind bars!” ↩
16. This one just immediately lodged in my brain and wouldn’t get out; I think I may have actually skipped the “add to library, list to it again before it makes it into the playlist” purgatory step, which is very rare. ↩